Wire-clamping mechanism.



E. LEWIS & F. H. NULLMEYER. WIRE GLAMPING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 30. 1909.

969,546; Patented Sept. 6,1910.

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EDWARD LEWIS, OF YOUNGSTOWN, AND FRANK H. NULLMEYER, OF STRUTHERS, OHIO,ASSIGNORS TO THE YOUNGSTOWN SHEET & TUBE COMPANY, OF YOUNGSTOWN,

OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

WIRE-CLAMPING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 6, 1910.

Application filed November 30, 1909. Serial No. 530,559.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDWARD LEWIs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Youngstown, in the county of Mahoning and State of Ohio, andFRANK H. NULL- MEYER, a citizen of the United States, residing atStruthers, in the county of Mahoning and State of Ohio, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in \Vire Clamping Mechanism, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to wire clamping mechanism used in connectionwith machines in which a certain amount of wire is fed in at eachoperation of the machine, as, for example, nail or staple forming machines.

The object of the present invention is to construct a wire clampingmechanism which will be positive and quick of action; which will beextremely simple and durable of construction; which will accommodateitself to the wear that is bound to occur on the gripping surface; andwhich will be capable of attachment and operation with any form ofmachine designed, without a rearrangement of any of the parts of thefeed mechanism.

The invention consists in the features of construction and combinationof parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front view of the device of the presentinvention in operative position; Fig. 2, a plan view of the parts shownin Fig. 1; and Fig. 3, a section taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

As shown in Fig. 1, the device is attached to a casting 1 which, in theform shown, is a portion of a nail machine. This particular form ofcasting, however, is shown merely for the purpose of illustrating someform of mounting for the clamping device, and it is not desired in anyway to limit the invention to use with a nail machine. The clampingmechanism consists of a body portion 5 adapted to be fixedly securedupon a suitable mounting. The body portion is provided with a guideway 6formed in one of the faces thereof, and said guideway is of beveled ortapered formation as indicated at 7.

Traveling in the guideway 6 is a movable clamping member 8, which hasone of its faces 9 beveled at an angle to correspond to the bevel of theguideway 6; and its opposite face extends parallel with the wire andforms a gripping surface which impinges agamst the wire when the movableclampmg member is moved to proper position. Afiixed to the clampingmember is a pin 10 which lies within a recess 11 formed in the bodyportion 5. Pivotally mounted upon a stem 12 affixed in the body portionis a lever 13 having a forked end 1 1 and a handle 15. Attached to thepin 12 is a spring 16 which, after being coiled around the stem 12,extends forward and bears against the under side of the pin 10 and holdsthe clamping member 8 upward under spring tension. Attached to asuitable support is a fixed clamping member 17, which may be of the formshown or of any other well known and suitable construction; and lyingina position between the adjacent faces of the fixed and the movableclamping member is a wire 18 which is adapted to be impinged by theclamping members. I

The operation is as follows: WVhen the handle 15 of the lever 13 israised upward, the lever will be swung around the stem 12 as a pivot andthe forked end will be thrown downward, and as the forked end is inengagement with the pin 10 on the movable clamping member 8, suchmovement will carry with it the movable clamping member, and because ofthe beveled or tapered formation of the guideway 6 and the correspondingtaper on the face 9 of the sliding member, the carrying downward of themovable member will draw it inward, causing the gripping surface thereonto move away from impingement with the wire. This will allow the wire tobe drawn forward into the position desired, and, when a suflicientquantity of wire has been thus fed, the operator will release the handle15 and the spring will act to throw the forked end upward, carrying withit the movable clamping member. As the clamping member 8 moves up in theguideway 6, the tapered formation of said guideway will tend to forcethe clamping member outward and toward the fixed clamping member. Thiswill result in the wire becoming impinged between the adjacent faces ofthe fixed and the movable clamping members, and the wire will be clampedin such a manner that any additional strain placed thereon will re sultin moving the clamping member 8 further up the guideway and forcing itinto tighter impingement against the wire; thus the more strain that isplaced on the wire the tighter it will be clamped, making any furthermovement of the wire impossible after the handle 15 has been released bythe operator.

A wearing away of the acting surface of the movable clamping member willmerely result in the member moving a trifle further up the guidewaybefore it becomes impinged against the wire, and will not impair in any'ay its effectiveness as a clamp.

l Ve claim:

1. In a wire clamping mechanism, the combination of a fixed body portionhaving a tapered guideway formed therein, a movable clamping memberslidable within said guideway and having one of its faces beveled toconform to the bevel of the guideway, and having one of it; oppositefaces extending in a plane parallel with the wire and forming a grippingsurface adapted to be impinged against the wire, a fixed clampingmember, and means for sliding the movable member up and down theguideway to move its clamping surface toward and rrom the fixed clampingmember, sul'istantially as described.

2. In a wire clamping mechanism, the combination of a fixed body portionhaving a tapered guideway formed therein, a movable clamping memberslidable within the guideway and having one of its faces beveled toconform to the bevel of the guideway, and having one of its oppositefacet extending in a plane parallel with the wire and forming a grippingsurface adapted to be impinged against the wire, a. pin on the movableclamping member, the fixed body portion having a recess in which saidpin travels, a fixed clamping member, and means for sliding the movableclamping member up and down the guideway to move its clamping surfacetoward and from the fixed clamping member, substantially as described.

3. In a wire clamping mechanism, the combination of a fixed body portionhaving a tapered guideway formed therein, a movable clamping memberslidable within said guideway and having one of its faces beveled toconform to the bevel of the guide way, and having one of its facesextending in a plane parallel with the wire and forming a grippingsurface adapted to be impinged against the wire, a pin on the movableclamping member, the fixed body portion having a recess in which saidpin travels, means for sliding the movable clamping member up and downthe guideway to move its clamping surface toward and from the fixedclamping member, and means for maintaining an upward spring tension uponthe movable clamping member, substantially as described.

t. In a wire clamping mechanism, the combination of a fixed body portionhaving a tapered guideway formed therein, a movable clamping memberslidable within said guideway, a pin on the movable clamping member, thebody portion having a recess in which said pin travels, a fixed clampingmember, an arm pivotally mounted upon a bearing secured to the fixedbody portion, one end of the arm being forked to receive the pin, andthe other end of the arm serving as a handle to be grasped in actuatingthe arm, and a spring secured to the bearing and extending forward andcontacting the under surface of the pin, the movement of the arm in onedirection forcing the movable clamping member toward the fixed clampingmember, substantially as described.

5. In a wire clamping mechanism, the combination of a body portionhaving a guide-way therein, one wall of said guideway having an angledface, a movable clamping member in said guide-way in the form of ablock, having an angle face and a solid, fiat, straight face, saidmovable clamping member lying to one side of the wire, a fixed clampingmember lying to the opposite side of the wire, means for actuating themovable clamping member up and down the guide-way, the movement in onedirection wedging the clamping member between the face of the guide-wayand the wire, to clamp the wire between the fixed clamping member andthe straight face of the block, substantially as described.

6. In a wire clamping mechanism, the combination of a body portionhaving a guide-way therein, one wall of said guide way having an angledface, a movable clamping member in said guide-way in the form of ablock, having an angled face and a solid, fiat, straight face, saidblock lying to one side of the wire, a fixed clamping member lying tothe opposite side of the wire, tension mechanism for actuating themovable clamping member in one direction, the angled faces cooperatingduring such movement to wedge the clamping member between the face ofthe guide-way and the wire and clamp the wire between the fixed clampingmember and the straight face of the block, and means for returning themovable clamping member to normal position, substantially as described.

EDWVARD LEIVIS. FRANK H. NULLMEYER.

Vitnesses CARL A. PORATH, W. N. l/VILsoN.

